Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
November,  1902.  / 
The  Apprentice  of  Former  Days. 
533 
higher  than  usual,  so  that  while  before  my  preceptor  had  paid  in 
addition  to  board  and  lodging  with  his  family,  twenty-five  dollars 
per  annum,  I  was  to  receive  thirty,  my  lecture  tickets  at  the 
Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy  and  an  increase  of  five  dollars 
each  year.  And,  as  if  to  emphasize  a  satisfactory  completion  of  the 
term,  the  good  wife  of  my  employer  offered  to  furnish  a  certificate, 
saying  to  any  lady  I  might  select,  "  that  I  could  polish  the  stair- 
rods,  tack  down  the  carpets  and  smile  at  the  end  of  the  job." 
The  store  afforded  ample  opportunity  for  practical  work.  Gas 
was  dear,  and  I  was  sent  to  bed  so  that  I  could  open  up  early  in  the 
morning.  I  must  admit  a  little  deception — the  student  lamp  was  a 
small  affair  and  its  light  easily  hid.  A  mixture  of  alcohol  and  tur- 
pentine, known  as  burning  fluid,  was  the  fuel.  My  habit  was  to 
rewrite  my  notes  and  look  up  any  not  well  understood  part  of  the 
lecture. 
The  value  of  drug  store  laboratory  experience  was  well  illus- 
trated by  a  remark  made  by  my  preceptor,  after  I  had  engaged  in 
business  on  my  own  account.  Visiting  me  during  a  recovery  by 
distillation  from  an  alcoholic  percolate,  "  Why,"  said  he,  "if  I  had 
done  that  during  all  my  business  career  I  would  have  been  a  rich 
man."  Alcohol  which  had  been  selling  for  about  40  cents  had, 
owing  to  the  war  tax,  been  advanced  to  $1.90  per  gallon. 
I  graduated  in  1863,  and  shall  always  account  Professors  Bridges, 
Thomas  and  Procter  more  than  teachers — friends  never  to  be  for- 
gotten— whose  enthusiasm  made  up  for  the  better  facilities  now 
afforded. 
Professor  Procter  impressed  our  minds  with  his  individuality  and 
made  the  most  lasting  impressions;  and  in  so  far  as  we  druggists 
were  transformed  into  pharmacists,  the  responsibility  is  his. 
He  gave  us  the  thought  that  pharmacy  would  eventually  reach 
the  professional  stage.  This  was  ever  a  pleasant  day  dream  for 
which  a  place  in  our  hearts  was  always  reserved,  and  now  when  I 
recall  the  years  spent  in  sailing  this  high  ideal  of  a  pharmacist's 
duty,  a  look  backward  causes  no  regrets. 
Upon  one  occasion  Procter  said  to  me :  "  Young  man,  your  phys- 
ical appearance  indicates  too  close  attention  to  business,"  and  sug- 
gested a  change  in  surroundings  and  the  probable  healthful  pleasure 
and  benefit  of  attendance  upon  the  meetings  of  the  American  Phar- 
maceutical Association.    The  next  week  found  me  in  St.  Louis 
